


You’re Shaking My Hand Like It’s The First Time

by OstarsofheavenOgrassofgraves



Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: Anxiety, Attempt at Humor, Canon Relationships, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/F, F/M, Fluff, Forgiveness, Gentle Kissing, Glimbow, Hurt/Comfort, Kissing, Panic, Post-Canon, Post-Season/Series 05 Finale, Scorfuma, catradora, coming home, glow - Freeform, soft catradora - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-28
Updated: 2021-02-28
Packaged: 2021-03-11 23:00:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,473
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29750325
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OstarsofheavenOgrassofgraves/pseuds/OstarsofheavenOgrassofgraves
Summary: Adora pressed her lips to Catra’s temple and whispered, “Ready to go home, love?”Color immediately rose to Catra’s cheeks. Love got her every time. “I think I’m already there.”Adora led Catra by the hand up the stairs to the archway, barely containing her excitement as she swung their arms like children. “Every night can be a sleepover again!”--------------------------------------------------------------------------When the squad returns to Bright Moon, Catra fears that she doesn't deserve a home like this. Adora is there to calm these fears.
Relationships: Adora & Catra (She-Ra), Adora/Catra (She-Ra), Bow & Glimmer (She-Ra), Bow/Glimmer (She-Ra), Perfuma/Scorpia (She-Ra)
Comments: 1
Kudos: 74





	You’re Shaking My Hand Like It’s The First Time

“Whoa.”

Catra stopped in place to gaze up at the palace. She had seen it before, of course, in the heat of battle. Now that she understood that princesses were just people—her _friends_ , even—she could look at Bright Moon with fresh eyes. Wide, admiring, astonished eyes. 

As they had made their way through the Whispering Woods, Catra had anxiously wondered if they would come upon a ruin, but even after the period of disrepair and neglect, the castle still stood tall. The periwinkle cliffs, the shimmering waterfalls, the opalescent pillars—she honestly found herself speechless, taking in the dazzling wonder of the palace illuminated by starlight and the moon stone’s glow. 

Catra lifted her head from Adora’s shoulder. “You… really lived here?” 

Adora took Catra’s hand in her own with a light squeeze. “Yeah. Seems crazy, even to me.” She glanced up at the towering edifice, too, but only for a moment. She couldn’t resist turning to look at Catra, who was still awestruck by the sight. The longer she stared, the more she could feel her heart beating, pounding. The damned thing was so loud and eager.

Eager to be heard after all these years. 

Adora raised Catra’s hand to her lips and softly kissed at the bruised knuckles. “I’ve lived here for… a while.” She pressed another kiss into Catra’s palm. “But I have a feeling this place is going to feel _a lot_ more like home from now on.” 

Catra tore her gaze away from the castle to lock eyes with Adora. They were incredibly bright. Intense. Inviting. She turned her hand to hold Adora’s face, sliding a thumb along the planes of her cheek. “Do you have to be so sickeningly sweet?”

Adora grinned and smushed her face into Catra’s hand. “Yes, absolutely.” 

Catra couldn’t believe her luck: here she was, alive at the end of the war, with the love of her life literally in the palm of her hand. And yet, an unmistakable sense of unease was brewing in the pit of her stomach. Something about this posture, this gesture of Adora holding Catra’s hand to her own face, made her shiver. 

_Didn’t trust you. Didn’t believe in you. Didn’t need you._

A pulsating tide of dark red started to bleed into her peripheral vision, soon obscuring Adora and everything around her. Memories of that night, of the planet breaking around her—because of her—returned in a torrent. Panic seized Catra’s windpipe, crushing the air out of her gasping mouth.   
  
This moment… this beautiful, ethereal moment had to be wrong. She wasn’t supposed to be here. She had worked long and hard to ensure that an Etheria like this wouldn’t exist. 

_Left you._

Catra pulled her hand away. Wheezing and trembling, she stepped back from the castle steps. From Adora. 

“Catra?” 

_They’re not the problem._

She kept walking backwards, shaking her head and squeezing her eyes shut. 

“What’s wrong?”

_It’s you. You drive them away._

Everything had felt so right. But the voice in her head was so clear. 

Gasping for breath, Catra choked out, “I—I don’t think I belong here, Adora.”

Catra came to a halt, but not of her own volition. Adora had swept her up in her arms, lifting Catra’s feet off the ground in the tightest hug Adora could muster without breaking any bones. 

“Don’t say something stupid,” Adora mumbled into the crook of Catra’s neck. Catra could feel the words vibrate against her throat. “We both know that’s my job.”

“But I—” Catra protested, not sure where to begin. “I hurt everyone in this kingdom. No one’s going to trust me or—or-or believe me,” she sputtered, unable to catch her breath as the words came flooding out, “or need me.”

“ _I_ need you,” Adora defied her. She placed Catra back on the ground but didn’t release the girl from her arms. “Right now, I need you to breathe with me.”

Adora inhaled deeply and paused, waiting to hear Catra join her. 

“Adora, I—”

“Please?” Adora released the breath in a stream over Catra’s shoulder. “Please,” she repeated, patiently but forcefully. 

Still shaking, Catra nodded against Adora’s face. 

“We’re going to breathe together, okay? Just like when we were kids.” 

They breathed in. They held. They breathed out. All the while, Adora softly drew the passing seconds—one, two, three, and over—on Catra’s shoulder blade to keep count for the pair. In. Held each other. Out.

“I need you, Catra. That’s as true today as it was when we were six years old.” 

Being in Adora’s arms like this, held so tightly that she could barely move, brought her right back to childhood. Of picking fights with the older kids. Of rushing out in front of a rolling tank. Of leaping from the overlook. Every time, Adora had been there to catch her and stop her from getting hurt. “I’m not letting go,” Adora would stubbornly say, using all her strength to keep Catra beside her, safe and sound. Catra blinked away the tears to see her lifelong best friend, still holding on after all this time. 

“I trust you. I believe in you.” Adora pulled her head back from Catra’s neck to tip their foreheads together. “I believe that you want to heal, not hurt.” 

Catra wanted to agree. She wanted to simply accept the kindness and the grace, but doing so violated every instinct within her. “What if I’ve done too much damage?” Her face twitched as she remembered how Frosta had punched her within seconds of arriving at rebel camp. The fist to her jaw had certainly been unpleasant, but it had felt deserved. “What if I’m always going to be the villain here?”

Adora sighed, but nodded in understanding. “When I first came to Bright Moon, I was worried that no one would want a former Horde soldier around.” She moved her arms down from Catra’s shoulders to her waist in order to stroke Catra’s back. “We were raised to cause harm. It’s hard to see ourselves as anything more than fighters.” 

For a while, they stood silently in their embrace, each deep in thought. They had never lived in a world without war before. They had never woken up without a battle on the horizon. What did peace even mean to two kids who had always been told they were weapons? 

Adora didn’t quite know yet what recovery would look or feel like. Tomorrow and the next day and the next were all unknowns, but she knew who she wanted to be with. Adora tilted her head just enough for her lips to meet Catra’s. The kiss was delicate and brief, but it was enough to remind Catra that she wasn’t alone anymore. When their lips parted, Catra slowly opened her eyes to check if Adora was glowing. For the record, she was. 

Adora’s lips formed a small smile before she began again. “You aren’t just what happened to you. You aren’t just what you’ve done in the past.” She reached down to interlace her fingers with Catra’s, marveling for a second at how well they seemed to fit together. “You get a say in who you are. And I think that person wants to put the world back together.”

Adora leaned down for another kiss, this one slower and sweeter than the last. Catra felt so light-headed by the end of it that she tipped forward into Adora’s chest, tugging on Adora’s hands to regain her balance. “How do you have so much faith in me?” 

Adora helped to steady her, then shrugged and smiled smugly. “Guess I just know you super well.” 

Catra smirked in spite of herself. She pulled one hand free to wipe at her face. “Sorry… for freaking out so much today.”

Adora couldn’t help but laugh. She stroked Catra’s tear-stained cheek with the back of her fingers. “The universe could have ended today. Freaking out”—she pinched her thumb and index finger together—“is a _little_ called for.” 

They let silence fall over them again. The quiet was new and comforting in a way Catra had never anticipated. The Fright Zone was always full of noise, whether soldiers were clashing or machinery was churning. She involuntarily grabbed for the back of her neck when she thought of the one place that had been utterly soundless: Horde Prime’s ship. She had looked out upon an endless sea of stars and heard _nothing_. Not until a clone had come to apprehend her, that is. 

Adora’s hand covered the one grasping at her chip scar. That simple touch brought the present back in focus. When she listened carefully enough, Catra could in fact hear the cascade of water down the cliffside and the murmur of voices in the palace entryway. But these were all distant, soft brushstrokes in the background of a fresh work of art. What she really wanted to focus on was the girl right in front of her, all around her. 

Adora pressed her lips to Catra’s temple and whispered, “Ready to go home, love?”

Color immediately rose to Catra’s cheeks. Love got her every time. “I think I’m already there.”

Adora led Catra by the hand up the stairs to the archway, barely containing her excitement as she swung their arms like children. “Every night can be a sleepover again!” 

Catra blushed deeper at the thought. Now she felt just as enthusiastic about getting inside as Adora looked. She could only hope that Glimmer, who had suddenly appeared at the top of the steps, wouldn’t notice the profuse redness on her face. 

“There you are!” When the couple reached the queen, Glimmer took Catra’s free hand and stood on her tiptoes to kiss Catra’s cheek. “We’ve been waiting to welcome you!” 

“Really?” Catra scoffed, barely holding back a grin. “People have been waiting to welcome _me_?” 

“Well, it’s mostly just Glimmer and me,” Bow interjected, stepping out of the grand hall to meet them, “because everyone else has gone to sleep.” 

Bow swooped his arms around Glimmer, Catra, and Adora, hugging them with renewed joy. Catra was caught in the middle of the group, where she involuntarily squirmed for a moment. “Is everyone in Bright Moon this touchy?” 

Bow, Glimmer, and Adora practically shouted “yes” in unison—and that just pushed Catra over the edge into laughing uncontrollably. Naturally, her friends joined her. 

_Unbelievable_ , Catra thought to herself. She was squished between three people she had fought for nearly three years and she had never been happier. “You’re all ridiculous!” 

“You’ll come to love it,” Glimmer insisted, rosy-cheeked and absolutely beaming. 

Catra stubbornly bit back a smile and let her eyes fall closed. “I think I already do,” she whispered. 

Someone suddenly behind them cooed, “Aww.” 

“Oh, not everyone went to bed,” Bow realized, easing his grasp to let Catra and Adora peer into the hallway, “I guess Perfuma and Scorpia waited up for you.” 

Sure enough, the couple was sitting on the floor about twenty feet away. Scorpia had been watching the group with her chin resting on her claws, while Perfuma had dozed off against—

“Melog!” Catra called out.

Both the creature and the princess drowsily opened their eyes. Once they were alert, Melog ran up to Catra and Adora, trilling a greeting. 

Scorpia rose from the ground to meet the pair. “So that’s what this little buddy is called! They’re so sweet!”

Catra smirked and knelt down to bump her head against Melog’s snout. “Yeah, they know who good friends are.” Melog chirped happily in agreement.

Adora placed a gentle hand on Scorpia’s shoulder. “I’m so glad you’re okay.” 

Scorpia glanced behind her to check on Perfuma, who now had her head propped against the wall as she fell back to sleep with a subtle smile on her face. Scorpia let out a shuddering breath as she rubbed a claw against her forehead. “Yeah, I’m okay.” She looked down at her feet, shuffling in place, as a wide grin broke out across her face. “More than okay. I’m honestly so happy right now.” 

Guilt quickly surged and receded in Catra’s chest. She believed Scorpia deserved to be happy—genuinely, she did—but for the longest time, Catra had actively worked against that happiness. She had insulted, lied to, and yelled at someone who had just wanted to be her friend. Well, more than a friend, if Catra was being honest. Looking up into Scorpia’s face, she saw a fundamentally good person. Someone who cared. Someone who loved. With a quick glance over at Perfuma, Catra hoped Scorpia would find—or had already found—someone who would care for and love Scorpia with just as much energy and heart as she gave. 

Melog nudged at Catra, urging her to stand. She understood. Getting up from the floor, she walked over to Scorpia and gave her a quick and tentative hug. “I’m really happy we’re both here.”

Catra’s words made Scorpia tear up immediately, but she resisted lifting the small girl up into another, bigger hug. “Catra, that…” She sniffled a bit, wiping at her eyes. “Oh man, that means the world to me.” 

The day had already been so emotional, Catra didn’t know if she could handle making Scorpia cry—even in a good way. “Okay, c’mon, don’t make me cry, too!” She nodded over in Perfuma’s direction with a wink. “I think you need to help a princess get to bed.” 

Shaking a little, Scorpia took a few deep breaths to regain her composure. “Right, right!” That little prompt made her face blush slightly, but she didn’t seem at all embarrassed. If anything, she looked happier by the second. “I feel so lucky.” 

Catra looked over at Adora, petting Melog in the corner in an attempt to give Catra and Scorpia a little space. “Yeah, I get the feeling.” 

With one last pat on Catra’s shoulder, Scorpia left them for the night. She carefully picked Perfuma up in a bridal carry before walking slowly down the hall and out of sight. 

Adora’s fingers effortlessly slipped between Catra’s. Adora leaned in close to whisper, “I’m proud of you.” 

Just then, Glimmer and Bow crept past them, hand in hand. Bow gave an awkward wave over his shoulder as they made their way into the castle. “Goodnight! We’re just gonna head to bed!”

Adora smirked and put her free hand on her hip. “ _Glimmer’s_ bed?”

Glimmer shot back a look full of mischief and malice. “Don’t tell my dad. I don’t think he knows I’m twenty.” 

Adora mimed zipping her lips shut as her best friends raced the remainder of the way to the queen’s room. Then she and Catra erupted in a fit of giggles.

“How badly do you think Micah is going to freak out when he sees Sparkles and Arrow Boy make out?” 

Adora had to place her hands on her knees as she doubled over in laughter. “He will totally flip! And he’s the most powerful sorcerer on Etheria!” She opened her eyes wide in fake fear before she snorted. 

Catra calmed down enough to reach for Adora’s hand again. “And what happens if we get caught?”

Adora, still trying to regain her breath while giggling, asked, “Get caught doing wh—”

Catra hooked an arm around the back of Adora’s neck and pulled her in, cutting off the question with the pressure of her lips. The glow that soon radiated off Adora’s skin illuminated the entire corridor. 

At first, Adora met Catra with urgency. Her strong arms wrapped around Catra’s waist to tug them even closer together. Having so many points of contact between them, feeling Adora’s body pressed against hers, made Catra’s heart race. Her mind was now aflame with simple wishes that she had always been afraid to acknowledge before: to trace the shell of Adora’s ear with a fingertip while sharing secrets; to bury her nose in Adora’s honey sweet hair and inhale deeply; and most of all, to taste Adora’s wrist, collar bone, and tongue. 

Plucking up the courage to turn a long-held fantasy into a reality, Catra leaned heavier into Adora and coaxed Adora’s lips to part by opening her own mouth. For a moment, that’s all Catra dared to do—and Adora didn’t seem to know what to do next. Her hands had stilled on Catra’s sides, her body otherwise frozen. 

Catra worried she had gone too far, too fast. She tried to pull away, but Adora sensed her panic and caught her.

“Wait,” Adora whispered, cupping Catra’s face, barely grazing the top of Catra’s neck with her fingers. She made no motions to resume the kiss. Instead, she took a few seconds to catch her breath before bringing her nose down to lightly touch Catra’s. 

Melog coiled around the pair, rubbing up against their calves and laying in a spiral at their feet. Catra could feel the creature imploring her to speak up, to say what was on her mind—but Adora broke the silence first. 

“I don’t want you to think we could get ‘caught,’” Adora said firmly, but she couldn’t keep the tremor out of her voice for a sentence longer. “I don’t want you to think I’m ashamed”—Catra lifted her gaze from Adora’s lips to find tears welling in Adora’s eyes—“or afraid to be with you, Catra.” 

_Oh_ , Catra thought when the meaning of Adora’s assurances dawned on her. With quaking hands, she had to consciously keep her claws sheathed when the mere idea of Shadow Weaver invaded her mind. 

  
On the verge of sobbing, Adora felt the transformed texture of Melog’s mane and the tension in Catra’s arms. She shook her head vehemently, insisting, “C-Catra, listen to me.” With the faintest touch, Adora stroked the pads of her thumbs just below Catra’s quivering bottom lip. “You have never—I mean, _never_ been a distraction to me.” She was struggling to get words out between the convulsive gasps that rattled through her, but she had to tell Catra. “I’m not confused about what I feel about you,” she managed to say, her voice cracking, “because I know that I love you and I will be proud to stand beside you—as long as you want me.”   
  
The confession made her blush every time. _She loves me_ , Catra repeated to herself, _Adora loves me!_ She laid a hand over Adora’s heart and found comfort—and a bit of humor—in the strong but frantic beat she felt. “I’ve always wanted you,” she murmured into Adora’s hand, “and I will always want you, dummy.” 

Adora perked up immediately, eyes shining at Catra through the remaining tears. “Really?” She somewhat awkwardly rolled her neck to try and clean her face off on the collar of her jacket, to little avail. When she righted her head, she gave Catra a look of such sincere devotion, Catra could feel the air leave her lungs. “You promise?”

Catra took Adora’s hands from her face. “I promise.”

Melog meowed contentedly below them, reminding Catra that they weren’t quite alone. Without any words or gestures, Melog detected what Catra hoped for. Standing and shaking out from the floor, Melog trilled goodnight before padding away and disappearing without a trace. 

Now it felt like they had the entire castle to themselves. As far as they knew, the rest of the rebellion was fast asleep. For the next few hours, Catra could give every ounce of her attention to the girl she loved.

Tilting her head up, Catra rubbed the fine fur of her chin along Adora’s jawline. “You’ve spent all this time taking care of the universe,” she whispered, her lips hovering just below Adora’s ear, “but I think it’s time you let me take care of you.” 

Adora released an unsteady breath but didn’t budge. “You… want to take care of me?” The inflection of her question betrayed her surprise—as well as a tinge of excitement. 

“What an idiot,” Catra laughed, shaking her head not in disbelief, but at the predictability, “of course I want to take care of you.” She pulled on Adora’s hands to lead her down the hallway. “C’mon, show me to your _royal bedchamber_ or whatever.” 

The teasing only helped Adora rebound faster from weeping to utter joy. When she finally took Catra’s hint, she led the way running and skipping. 

“How do you have _this_ much energy?” Catra joked once they arrived at Adora’s door. “I mean, you almost died today.” 

“I don’t know. I guess…” Adora paused, pushing the door open with her free hand. She stepped to the side so Catra could look into the room for the first time. “I guess this just feels like a new life,” she smiled then as she ushered Catra over the threshold, “and it’s one I get to share with you.”   


**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading!
> 
> This piece builds on [**We’ll Laugh ’Til We Cry Like We Did When We Were Kids**](https://archiveofourown.org/works/28677693) and references shared coping mechanisms Catra and Adora use in [**They Say That Dreaming Is Free, But I Wouldn’t Care What It’d Cost Me**](https://archiveofourown.org/works/29188596)


End file.
